Outstanding Scenes
Outstanding Scenes The first indedent of Ben's mental illness is shown. "He had been approached, he told me, by someone from another world. A hand had reached across dimensions and deposited a thumbprint on the lens of his glasses" (Martini, 21). It was effective with the drawing and the words that Clem used. You found out how creepy this would be if your sibiling came into your room and claimed this was happening to them. It seems out of this world that this would happen, but a chemical imbalance changes everything. "I closed the blinds, sat in a chair in my kitchen, and made a list of things I would do differently this time" (Martini, 57). At this point in the memoir sadness is the emotion you feel from Clem's narrative as he finds out about Olivier and his illness he wanted to act differently then he had with Ben. This time it would be much better. Another interesting scene in the memoir is when Liv just escapes from the hospital. Clearly there is not a lot of security nor to they care to take care of the patients who are inside. "So, he told me, he figured they didn't need him anymore. He had quietly gathered his things together, got dressed and slipped out the front door" (Martini, 72). It seems almost fiction that things like this can actually happen. The photo to the right looks as though Liv is trying to describe his circles of hell of mental illness. There is the devil that represents evil, an angel which represents helping and some people sitting around a table that look distraught. It provoked an eery feeling and almost feels as though mental illness has a sense of evil in it. Mr.Martini was very pessimistic and Clem shows this when he writes that his father constantly stated that "All is Lost in Canada" and that he was a "fatalist" (Martini, 83). It adds to the depression and unhappiness that is present in the memoir. To the right Liv scribbles a quote above an excerpt of Clem's narrative. It says " Nietzsche said there will never be justice as long as people had different levels of power the strong will prey on the weak" (Martini, 153). The hoplessness that Liv contains that he will never be helped and never feel better is very sad. Not only does he have a tough illness to help but he has zero hope of feeling better. The scene of Liv finding his father dead in his apartment was heart wrenching, you felt for the Martini family. The photo of his father that Liv draws also creates intimacy with the reader. "No one answered the doorbell, so Liv found the maintenance man. They took turns knocking loudly at Dad's door, then the maintenance man inserted the master key into the lock and opened it. My brother entered the silent apartment and found my father's slight frame splayed across his bed" (Martini, 125). (Illustration to the right) On the line of happiness Clem on page 243 states how happy he is that his relationship with Liv has progressed and is very good now. "I'd characterize the relationship I have with Liv as both good and close, but there are times when I know I get on his nerves." (Martini, 242). Liv's mental illness drew them closer together although it was just trying to help Liv through tough times. The last illustration in the memoir was the most powerful scene, it is self explanatory and shows that no one is perfect and everyone has their own problems. It is two men Liv and a guy name Stephen sitting next to eacother Stephen asks Liv if he had ever seen someone perfect and Liv replies by stating "No I never had, maybe in our minds people are perfect" (Martini, 260). This is a great way to end the memoir leaving the reader to understand that judging people leads to nothing positive, no one is perfect nor should they look for perfect people everyone has flaws. -Anna Garcia Ambler